• Best juvenile athletes of 2012
December 27,12
HAVANA.— Yorgelis Rodríguez and Kevin Hayler Brown, world champions in athletics and boxing, were chosen as Cuba’s 2012 Juvenile Athletes of the Year, by specialists at the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) and the Union of Cuban Journalists’ Sportswriters Circle.

• Bolt and Pajón voted Best Athletes in Latin America & the Caribbean
December 27,12
JAMAICAN sprinter Usain Bolt and the Colombian cyclist Mariana Pajon won the Prensa Latina Survey, chosen as the best athletes from Latin America and the Caribbean for the year.

• Catherine Videaux is world class
December 20,12
IT is an affirmation. Catherine Videaux (63kg) has reached world class level, at least taking into account what took place in the recent World Women’s Freestyle Wrestling Championship, hosted by Strathcona County, Canada, September 27-29, where U.S. Elena Pirozhkov beat Bulgarian Taybe Yusein 2-1 (2-1, 2-5, 1-0).

• Cuban women judokas bid farewell to 2012 on the podium
December 20,12
CUBA’s women judokas, trained by Ronaldo Veitía, met their goal of ending the year on a high note. They did so on the podium of the Tokyo Grand Slam, finishing third by country with two silver and two bronze medals.

• CUBA’S 2012 Outstanding Athletes
December 13,12
OLYMPIC champions Mijaín López, Greco-Roman wrestling, and Idalis Ortiz, Judo, were elected as Cuba’s most outstanding athletes of 2012 in individual sports, winning the majority of votes cast by the Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) and the Union of Cuban Journalists’ Sports Writers Circle.

• Athletes with disabilities excel
December 13,12
Athlete of the Year: Yunidis Castillo Castillo, ACLIFIM-athletics; Best Female Athlete: Omara Durand Elías, ANCI-athletics; Best Male Athlete: Luis Felipe Gutiérrez Rivero, ANCI-athletics.

• Yarisley Silva looking to establish herself as an elite pole vaulter
December 6,12
ESTABLISHING herself as an elite pole vaulter is no doubt Yarisley Silva’s goal during the coming athletics season.

• Juantorena in IAAF Hall of Fame
November 29,12
DURING the World Gala, the final event of the November 24-25 celebration in Barcelona marking the International Association of Athletics Federation’s 100th anniversary, the 2012 Athletes of the Year were named and the Association’s Hall of Fame was official opened with 24 initial members.

• CUBA’S 52nd NATIONAL BASEBALL SERIES
Cuba’s great passion underway
November 29,12
THE 52nd National Baseball Series began November 25 in Ciego de Avila’s José Ramón Cepero Stadium, with an enthusiastic opening event and a great game between the reigning champions, the hometown Tigers and Industriales from Havana.

• MARABANA 2012
An undisputed people’s celebration
November 22,12
ONCE again, the Cuban capital served as the scene of the legendary Marabana marathon, which reached its 26th edition this year with more than 2,700 participants, approximately 300 of them from other parts of the world.

• This is a perfect example of what we want to accomplish
November 15,12
UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Sports for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke, did not perhaps expect such an inspiring experience during his visit to Havana’s Camilo Cienfuegos Sports Complex, where the event Cubamotricidad 2012 was underway.

• Merritt’s record time in the 100-meter hurdles yet to be officially recognized
November 15,12
 ALTHOUGH impressively established at the time, none of the world records set during the London Olympics athletics competition last August had been validated until recently.

• Leinier sets the pace for his team’s victory in Spain
November 15,12
CUBAN Grand Master Leinier Domínguez (2,726 Elo points) with four victories, two draws and one loss in the Spanish Chess Clubs Championship, set the pace for his winning team, Sestao Naturgas Energía, which garnered a total of 13 points.

• Chess tournament dedicated to Che returns
November 9,12
Tras las Huellas del Che (In Che’s Footsteps) chess tournament, scheduled for December 3-13, to be held in the city’s Computer Center.

• TAE KWON DO WORLD RANKING
Robelis at the top
November 9,12
TAE kwon do athlete Robelis Despaigne Sauquet (+87 kg), winner of a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics, has maintained his number one spot in the World Federation (WTF) ranking for the third month in a row.

• Leonel Suárez and Gabino Arzola
2012, a turning point
November 2,12
COMPACT, solid, this is how decathlon athlete Leonel Suárez must feel after his second Olympic bronze in London, with 8,523 points. This places him in fourth place internationally, after world record holder U.S. Ashton Eaton (9,039); Trey Hardee (8,671), also from the U.S.; and German Pascal Behrenbruch (8,558).

• A new captain, same challenges
October 25,12
IT is possible that Idalis Ortiz (Artemisa, 1989) has yet to assimilate the importance of the Olympic title she won in London, defeating both China’s Wen Tong, who had not lost a match since 2007, and Japanese world champion Mika Sugimoto by hantei, a judges’ decision, which in the world of judo is almost equivalent to ippon.

• ORLANDO ORTEGA AND YORDAN O’FARRILL
Hurdlers thinking alike
October 18,12
THERE is barely 18 months difference in age between hurdlers Orlando Ortega and Yordan O’Farrill, but the coincidences between the two in facing daily training sessions and talking about their future goals is astonishing.

• Boxing team renewed
October 11,12
HAVANA.—Ten new boxers have entered the Cuban boxing pre-selection team, National Commissioner Alberto Puig has confirmed. The national commission periodically assesses the selection, taking into account overall results and discipline, with a view to making changes or otherwise, Puig explained.

• Juvenile World Championship
Boxers to defend title
September 20,12
UNDER the watchful eyes of trainer Humberto Orta, Cuba’s young boxers are preparing to defend their World Juvenile title in Armenia.

• WORLD TAE KWON DO RANKING
Robelis Despaigne... number one!
September 20,12
THE World Tae kwon do Federation (WTF) recently announced its monthly ranking of the best competitors in each of its 16 divisions. In the September listing, Cubans Robelis Despaigne (+87 kg) and Glenhis Hernández (+73) were ranked among the top ten and, in the case of the young man from Santiago, in first place, unprecedented in the history of the sport in Cuba.

• LONDON 2012 PARALYMPICS
Cuba’s finest performance
September 13,12
LONDON has become a historic city for Cuba. The country took 15th place in the London 2012 Paralympic Games, with a total of nine gold, five silver and three bronze medals, the second Latin American and Caribbean nation with just 22 athletes after Brazil, which placed seventh (21-14-8).

• 15th World Chess Olympiad
Cuba, leading Latin America
September 13,12
THE Cuban men’s team finished in 11th place, and the women 19th, in the 15th World Chess Olympiad, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey. This performance secured Cuba’s number one spot among Latin American countries.

• Raúl sends message to Cuban Paralympics delegation
September 4,12
ARMY General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, has congratulated the Cuban delegation participating in the London 14th Paralympic Games.

• CUBAN PARA-OLYMPIANS IN LONDON
August 29,12
CUBA’S 24 athletes participating in the 16th Paralympic Games in London, August 29 through September 9, have been training in the British capital, after spending 15 days in Glasgow, Scotland.

• LEURIS PUPO & HANSER GARCÍA
Scaling Mt. Olympus
August 23,12
TWO Cubans who reached the exclusive heights of the London Olympics were Leuris Pupo and Hanser García. Shooter Leuris Pupo won a gold medal and Hanser García was the first Cuban swimmer ever to qualify for the finals in the 100-meter freestyle competition.

• LONDON PARALYMPIC GAMES
Cuban runner Omara Durand
August 23,12
IN Beijing 2008, Cuban runner Omara Durand, barely 16 years of age, caught the attention of many. Exactly 12 months earlier, she made her debut in the Sao Paulo World Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired, with gold medals in the 100m and 200m, category T-13 (visually impaired). She won another three medals in the 2007 Parapan American Games, including the continental record of 56 seconds in the 400 meters.

• The excellence of the Olympic spirit
August 16,12
WHAT most impresses me about these 30th Olympic Games is the fraternization all the nations. More countries are represented in this sporting festivity than in the UN (204-193). And, for the first time, all the national Olympic committees sent athletes, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei.

• London 2012: Cuba, the best in Latin America
August 16,12
CUBA won the most medals among Latin American and Caribbean countries in the 30th Olympic Summer Games, though Jamaica, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Venezuela and Mexico put on brilliant performances in London as well, leading to high hopes for the next time around, the first Olympics to be held in South America, Río de Janeiro 2016.

• Leonel’s magnificent repeat performance
August 16,12
LONDON.— If repetition counts as confirmation, Usain Bolt’s knows no limits, David Rudisha is a phenomenon and Leonel Suárez a winner, as he made clear in Stratford Olympic Stadium, August 9.

• In London to compete as the champion
August 9,12
LONDON.— Loud and clear, Mijaín López had announced that he was going to London to compete as the champion. And he did, successfully defending his Beijing 2008 120kg title, overcoming a series of challengers, including Turkey’s Riza Kayaalp, who had beaten him in Istanbul ’11. The two had not faced off since then.  

• Yarisley Silva: 4.75 silver medal!
August 9,12
LONDON.— It was a cold night that saw Cuban pole vaulter Yarisley Silva scrape the sky to win a silver medal, coming ever-so-close to the gold.

• ASLEY GONZÁLEZ
A silver lion
August 9,12
LONDON.—Asley González (Placetas, 1989) has won a silver medal in these Summer Games, the value of which even he cannot estimate. Thirty-two years since Moscow 1980, the Cuban men’s judo team returned to an Olympic final.

• Cámbar wins a medal for Cuba
August 9,12
LONDON.—Iván Cámbar led Cuba’s return to the podium in weight lifting, after an absence of 16 years, winning the bronze medal in the 77kg division.

• Hanser García : The Cuban people should know I put my soul into the race
August 9,12
LONDON.— Born on the Cuban national holiday October 10, 23 years ago, Hanser García had already made Olympic history, as Cuba’s first ever free style finalist, even before making his way to the Aquatic Center October 1.

• OLYMPICS SHOOTING
Leuris Pupo: perseverance rewarded
August 9,12
MODESTY, dedication and discipline, combined with technical skill resulted in Cuban marksman Leuris Pupo’s gold medal in London in the 25-meter rapid pistol event, the first gold for Cuba in London, and the country’s first in Olympic shooting.

• Idalys Ortiz wins the gold
August 9,12
LONDON.—Judoka Idalys Ortiz (78+kg) jumped for joy on winning the gold medal in her category. Twelve years after Sydney 2000, Cuban women judokas, trained by coach Ronaldo Veitía, once again have taken an Olympic gold.

• Bermoy opens the way
August 2,12
LONDON.— Cuba’s first medal in the London Summer Olympics, just like four years ago in Beijing 2008, was once again won by Yanet Bermoy, the slight judoka from Cienfuegos. Another silver, although this time in a different weight division (52 kg), in which she only ceded to North Korea’s An Kum Ae, also a runner-up in China.

• On the way to London
Cuban delegation focused on winning
July 19,12
CUBA is sending 110 athletes to the 30th Olympic Games in London, to compete in 14 sporting events. The delegation is focused on improving its performance as compared to the Beijing Games, four years ago.

• LONDON ’12
Cuba will once again respect fair play
July 19,12
CUBA is sending a delegation of athletes to the London Olympic Games who are free of illegal performance-enhancing substances which have become widespread, especially in professional sports.

• Cuba wins bronze in World Volleyball League
July 13,12
THE Cuban men’s volleyball team, playing against Bulgaria for third place in the World League, left behind two powerful images on July 8. The first was imposing themselves in the first set, winning by 25-18 after losing 4-11. The other, having lost the second and third, was to take the fourth set, thus forcing a tie break.

• BASEBALL
The team to break the Haarlem spell
July 13,12
WAITING 16 years to revive a historical rivalry was worth it. Five baseball games against the U.S. Collegiate National Team, from which much experience was gained, and the 24 players who, from July 13 (when they debut against Puerto Rico), will try to recover the title in the Haarlem baseball week, which has eluded Cuba since 1998.

• Nelson Mandela and Teófilo Stevenson
July 13,12
IN November of 1994, I had the privilege of presenting my letters of accreditation as the first ambassador of Cuba, to Nelson Mandela, President of a South Africa recently liberated from the terrible system of racial segregation known as apartheid. I was accompanied by my wife Silvia; Marcos Rodríguez, previously Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his wife Rosa María.

• VOLLEYBALL WORLD LEAGUE
Cuba battles the giants
July 5,12
IN a year in which the Cuban men’s volleyball team possibly had few opportunities of reaching the finals of the World League, the youthful squad has given its fans an excellent surprise by being included in them.

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